Bristol’s West End to host festival again in August

July 9, 2014

Bristol’s West End Association, a non-profit neighborhood group of merchants and residents committed to the preservation, safety and overall quality of living in the City’s West End, is hosting its third-annual summer festival at RockwellPark on Saturday, Aug. 16.

The festival – which attracted more than 10,000 visitors last year –showcases and celebrates Bristol’s West End community, its merchants and residents. It offers a wide variety of music and dance performances, crafts, food, an antique car show, basketball, skateboard and volleyball tournaments, kids’ activities – including a “Kids Zone” sponsored by Liberty Bank and presented by Imagination Museum – and much more. Admission is free.

Held throughout RockwellPark from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., the festival features artists from across the state and the region displaying a variety of artistic styles including jewelry, skateboard and pop art, illustration, painting, sculpture, photography, and face painting. Additionally, some of the artists creating artwork during the day will sell or auction their creations.

There will be a full afternoon of music on the main festival stage, and musicians will perform acoustically at the park gazebo and in other select areas. Many popular area bands, including High Octane, Hanging Hills, Dave and Trish Connolly, Woof, Blue Cherry, Soul Sound Review, A Paper Tugboat, Jaime Kent, and Wise Old Moon will perform.

A drawing will be held on the day of the festival for a 42-inch flat-screen television donated by Bobroske Construction. Raffle entries are free, but can only be completed and submitted at RockwellPark on Aug. 16. Winners don’t have to be present for the drawing, held late in the day.

Many local sponsors have stepped up to support the 2014 Festival. To date they include Thomaston Savings Bank, Liberty Bank, Bristol Hospital, United Bank, Farmington Bank, Wheeler Clinic, Minuteman Press, Bargain Book, Alliance Bail Bonds, and the Bristol Republican Town Committee. Any proceeds remaining after festival expenses have been paid will go to benefit The West End Association’s ongoing programs, special events, clean-up activities, its newsletter and next year’s festival.

For more information on the Rockwell Park Summer Festival, visit the West End Association’s Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/WestEndAssociation/events. If you’re interested in participating as a vendor, or have other services you’d like to offer at the festival, contact David Hamelin at (860)583-3292.

For more information about The West End Association, email westendbristol@gmail.com.